The present invention relates generally to communication systems. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and apparatus for collecting image data from camera-equipped communication devices for use in assembling a composite representation of a visual subject.
With the convergence of voice and data communication networks, portable communication devices are increasingly likely to support several communication modes as well as a number of communication-related applications. Single-purpose cellular phones and alphanumeric pagers have given way to complex mobile devices supporting voice communications, e-mail, and instant messaging. A typical device often includes a camera, a music player, and sound recorder, and may include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver.
In particular, camera-equipped camera phones are ubiquitous in many regions, sparking considerable research interest in so-called ubiquitous computing applications that exploit the widespread availability of networked cameras. Terms like “telepresence,” “tele-reality,” “tele-existence,” “tele-immersion,” and the like have been coined to refer to technologies that allow a person to experience stimuli as though he or she were at a particular remote application. Much of the advanced research in these areas focuses on the use of networked, mobile, video or still cameras. For example, Neil J. McCurdy and William G. Griswold describe a systems architecture for providing a “reality fly-through,” based on video feeds from networked mobile cameras, in their article “A Systems Architecture for Ubiquitous Video,” in Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services (Seattle, Wash., Jun. 6-8, 2005), ACM, New York, N.Y., 1-14.
A related area of research is directed to improved systems for organizing, accessing, and viewing large collections of digital photographs. A database system for organizing collections of photographs using associated geographic location tags is described by Kentaro Toyama, Ron Logan, Asta Roseway, and P. Anandan in their article “Geographic Location Tags on Digital Images,” in MULTIMEDIA '03: Proceedings of the 11th ACM International Conference on Multimedia, ACM Press, New York, N.Y., USA, 156-166. Researchers Noah Snavely, Steven M. Seitz, and Richard Szeliski describe a more advanced approach to organizing photographs of a point of interest using a three-dimensional model, in their article “Photo Tourism: Exploring Photo Collections in 3D,” ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH Proceedings), 25(3), 2006, 835-846. With this approach, locations and orientations for each of several photographs associated with a particular point of interest are automatically computed from the image data itself. The various images are combined into a three-dimensional model of the point of interest, enabling a unique user interface for browsing among the discrete images.
Finally, additional research is ongoing into “computational photography,” especially into technologies for combining data from several digital images to form a new, perhaps improved, digital image. A few of these computational photography technologies are briefly described by Patrick L. Barry in “Pictures Posing Questions,” Science News, Vol. 171, No. 14, Apr. 7, 2007, 216-17, 219.
As evidenced by the above-described projects, considerable efforts have been devoted to developing image processing, organization, and presentation technologies. On the other hand, far less attention has been devoted to improved techniques for gathering digital images in a ubiquitous computing environment.